Markbass CMD 121P

The Markbass amps are well-featured, with the exeption of a mute and an externally accessable direct/line out switch for the DI. The EQ is fairly well placed and responsive, and the VPF and VLE features work really nicely to shape the over all tone.

Unfortunately, this is where the combo falls short. The amplifier portion sounds fantastic! If the rating was based on just the sound of the Little Mark/Combo head, I would rate it an 8 or 9. The EQ and VLE/VPF are versatile and allow for a wide range of very usable tones.

However, the cabinet is just too small and not ported correctly. The sound is muddy and boxy. The speaker is not well-damped and the result is a low-mid "fog" that clouds the entire spectrum. My other cabinets are Epifani, Euphonic Audio, and Aguilar - all of them sound clean, crisp, warm, and clear compared to the cabinet portion of the 121P.

I took the combo on a gig with acoustic guitar, drums, and a lead guitar and found myself fiddling with the filters/EQ the entire evening. My P-bass lost it's girth and sounded one-dimentional and cloudy. I finally got some warmth and depth into it, but then the upper-mid clarity was non-exsistent and passages that normally come through loud and clear were muffled and burried in the mix.

It's really too bad, as the head sounds so good throgh a proper cabinet.

No comment. I suppose they are good quality, but I didn't keep it long enough to know. 2-year no-questions-asked warranty through Guitar Center.

N/A

I've been playing for over 22 years. I've never put the instrument down for more than a few weeks in that time. My current rig is an Epifani UL502 with an Epifani UL112 cabinet, Aguilar GS112 cabinet, and EA Wizzy 10 cabinet, and my DI is an Avalon U5. Sonic fidelity is an absolute MUST for me. I've owned Aguilar, multiple SWR, and Ampeg amps and I've played through tons more. The Epifani rig has a depth to the sound that is more like an acoustic instrument than any rig I've every used before. I rarely touch the EQ - just plug in and play, and it sounds as perfect with a Pbass as it does with a fretless Rick Turner or a Roscoe 6. Even across multiple genres, the Epifani is consistently excellent. The Markbass sounded better with some basses than others, but the same fundamental flaw affected each instrument: muddy low-mids from a poorly-designed cabinet.

I owned the Markbass for a week before I took it back. I played it at home and on a gig that was very representative of what I do weekly. The real test was the gig and I couldn't get a decent sound out of it, so it went back to Guitar Center. It would've been a step up from many lower-cost small combos (Crate, Fender, Peavey, Behringer, SWR LA, etc.), but don't think it's as "pro" as an Aguilar, SWR, Epifani, Euphonic Audio, GK, Mesa, or other higher-end gear.

It's a shame as I really like the idea of this amp. It's small, light, powerful, and has a great sounding head. But the poor cabinet design really spoils it. I will now just wait till Epifani releases their Piccolo 600 "mini head" and keep my 18lb EA Wizzy for smaller gigs.

A simple straight forward combo, small, light, powerful and well sounding. The amp's input gain also sets the level for the balanced out/DI send. Four band eq that won't be needed that much. Two pre shape filters: one high end roll off, making it sound like an old amp, good for blues, the other is the more modern "slap and funk" filter with boosted low and high and a dip in the middle. Useful if you like that. All in all you could live with just those two filters and leave the four band be...
Parallel effects loop, good for delay and chorus. Not useful for octaver, auto wah and such, but these should be connected between bass and preamp anyhow.

I have played the combo as stand alone at rehearsal and with one Eden D112XLT cab at gig. Tremendous power from such small setup. Clean if you set the gain correct. If you push the power amp too hard it will distort, but that is just stupid. If you need that much volume: go DI! "What comes in goes out, just in bigger format."
I've played six string, fretted, fretless, electric upright; all works very well.

All except the tele/speakon combi speaker jack seems good enough. Must be a bad item from the "jack producer". Since I never use tele speaker cables I'll have it changed to a speakon only jack. The shop will do that for me at no cost.

Answer via e-mail in a day!

I use Eden gear for big occasions and needed a good, light combo for small gigs. With the current price for the US dollar the Markbass was more than a good alternative.

I play in a classic rock band with a guy who just bought one of these. He was using a big 4-12 cab and 300 watt head. One night he shows up with the little Markbass and I think, "Oh no, he can't be serious. All we'll hear for bass is fuzz and farts - IF the little amp doesn't blow up before the end of the night". Surprise surprise...

He brings a variety of basses to the gig, but mostly plays his Lakland two pickup. We play alot of Petty, Stones, Beatles. The amp sounds fine.

He's played the last 10 gigs with it, and no problem yet.

I myself when I play bass, hump around a Hartke 4-10 (the heavy duty one that weighs 90 lb) and an old Acoustic 370 head. My back is toast after a gig. This little Markbass is my next purchase.

2008
So far this amp seems to have it all, 500 watts will drive many cab setups, best lite 29lbs, see there web site for full specs multi inputs and outputs uses speakon for ext cab hookup

Im using (4) different basses with this amp,two jazz p/u type and one active Fulerton, and a ampeg amb-1 w/bassline HB pickup' they all sound grate with this amp best to start with the factory setings and then tweek it from there if you need, it has a lot of range and its so little its hard to belive the large sound you get, I've only hade mine a couple of months , it will give a real punch growl without and add ons ,, So Far So Good

Dont realy Know yet!

Good help from guitar center and they have op warranty plan it has a no quention replacement if it fails under normal use for 1yr , my credit card company doubles the factory warranty

I,ve been playing for a long time,and have a lot of gear, tried most bass amps past and present mostly heavy, large rigs to get alot of sound now with active basses and new tecknolegie in amps, you can avoid a rodie or hernia there are a few new botique amps out there but there not cheap I understand a tiny killer AER goe's for 2999.00
I wish my amp came with a cover, I would hate to loose this one and I love the sound I get.

This amp has all the tone shaping options you need. I especially like the VLE and VPF filters that allow you to boost either the mid range or high+low. This is the sort of tone-shaping that usually requires fuddling with a graphic EQ. The combo is light and small, which was what attracted me in this amp.

I have tried this Markbass combo extensively when in search for a new bass amp. The sound is OK but, heaving read the glowing reviews, I was a bit disappointed. The sound is pure, but it lacked depth (also for a single 12" speaker) and it just was not not as clean as I expected, especially in the low range it is a little bit muddy.

The owner of one of the shops where I tried this amp, who had an big selection of high-quality bass amps, told me that he had difficulty selling this particular combo. People usually settled for something else, and so did I (for an AER amp one). He suspected that the problem is the quality of the speakers rather the amp: he did sell Markbass heads with other cabinets. The CMD 121p is a good amp, but for the price you expect something great, which it just isn't. The same goes for the Mini CMD 151p.

In some ways, this unit scores well because of its lack of unnecessary features. THe controls are simple - 4 band EQ, gain, volume, and the magic VLE and VPF controls. I used to love amps with millions of different controls, but now I prefer simplicity, but still with some flexibility. This unit is perfect for me.

The size is tiny - it has to be one of the most portable gigging combos around - and yet it delivers the volume and sound I need. The only downside is getting to the rear panel, which is buried upside-down inside the rear port. But as it keeps the size to a minimum, I can live with that.

I have not used the balanced input yet, so can't comment on that.

One peculiarity is that my bass has so much output that I can only set the gain to a max of 2 (out of 6) to ensure there is no clipping. That said, I've always had enough volume on stage. I usually play with a PA, and this gives plenty of onstage volume. I have used it as the sole bass output in a medium sized venue and it could be heard at the back.

I use 3 Warwick basses. My main one is a custom FNA Jazzman, with a jazz and twinjazz pickups. It has a veyr high output level, and a big bottom end. As long as the gain is not too high, this combos handles the bottom end fantastically well. I have used my old 300W Trace Elliot combo since, and it just doesn't have as much bottom end. The 12 inch speaker is perfectly adequate, though I rarely have to push it to its limits.

The sound is the best I have owned. A flat EQ gives a very nice, clear sound (with a quality bass anyway) and does not colour the sound. THe controls can be tweaked (especially the VLE and VPF controls) to alter the sound quite dramatically. I tend to set the VLE to 9 o'clock and the VPF to 12 o'clock, which gives me a very crisp and modern fingerstyle tone. I am so pleased to get my best ever sound from such a portable amp.

I'm going to be harsh and award 9, as with more speakers would deliver a "wider" sound. Such a small amp has to be a little directional to get a full sound.

I've owned it for nearly a year with no problems whatsoever. IT has been gigged quite a lot in that time, both indoors and out, so I'm happy to award full marks.

Ive had no need to contact the company.

I've been playing 20 years, and I now use this combo for everything I do. It is great as a practice amp, but delivers everything I ask of it in a live situation as well. I will now always look to Markbass first when looking for an amp. If I ever need more volume I will get an extension cab for this unit.

I tried quite a lot of amps before choosing this, and although my objectives where biased somewhat towards portability, I was determined not to compromise on sound or volume. I simply believe that for the average gigging bassist there is no need to have anything more than one 15" speaker or 2x10" to provide sufficient volume. I debated for a long time about the mental aspect of standing on stage in front of an amp that comes up to my knees, but the sound justifies everything. THere may be something out there that sounds even better, but price or size would exclude it from my requirements. That's the only reason I give it a 9.

I bought this amp -brand new - half a year ago. I play mostly jazz (all styles) but I use it for any style or band I play with: jazz, soul, funk, dance or even pop and rock... This single channel solid state combo amp is the most versatile I've ever played. Basic features include 4-band eq, tuner out, send-return fx (series/parallel), DI-out w ground lift (pre/post eq), speakon and jack connection for (additional) cabinet... I use it for rehearsal, recording and on stage. The pre/post and series/parallel setting can be modified buy switching a jumper. It has no headphone jack, but never needed that.

I play a Cort Artisan neck-true A4 w flatwound strings ( La Bella 760-N) with Bartolini MKI Jazz Bass style pickups w active 3-band eq. This 12" combo amplifies my bass without adding color (some people could find this a negative: for me, it's a bonus!). It has the typical growl you get from any 12" speaker. The eq works very musical: add some high mids for accentuation of your melodic lines (works really well with walking bass lines!) I don't use lots of 'm, but the filters/eq's are very good and provide you with a huge variation of sound. It's absolutely very quiet, even at the higher gain ranges. The amp keeps it's tone at low and high levels. It's really hard to let this amp distort: if you like distortion then you're better off buying an Ampeg-style or valve amp or a pedal/fx.

Never had problems with it. Used it standalone and with a 4 x 10" extension cabinet (because of the absence of a PA system). Never took a backup with me to a gig. Can't really answer to this... so 'no opinion' Perhaps after 5-10 years...

Didn't need customer support until now. I've sent these guys an email with some technical questions (about the jumper switching etc...) and got an answer within 8 hours.

I've been playing bass for 10 years (playin' music for over 20 years). My first bass was a Yamaha RBX 250, but got tired of it really fast. I got my Cort Artisan A4 in 2006 (played on my best friends Fender Jazz Bass for 2 years before that) and bought the amp in april 2007. Before that I used a Roland bass cube for practise and an Ampeg SVT-450 head an Hartke 4x10" cabinet (sold everything when I heard this amp...). Things I really like are it's clarity and it's weight: 13 kilo's (28.6 lbs). This amp doesn't make you sound better/different: it makes you sound like you and your bass "really" do. This makes it a different amplifier than Ampeg/Hartke/EBS/Mesa/SWR... I really like that about Markbass. I hope it never gets stolen...

I totally love this amp. I use it for practice and for performance. For performance, I use it as a monitor and hook into the pa from the balanced line out. This amp has simple but powerful controls: Gain, clip light, 4 knob EQ and the 2 specialized knobs (VLE and VPF). I use the VLE (Vintage Loudspeaker Emulator) turned up half way. The back of the amp has 2 speaker outs, balanced line out, ground lift, effects loop and tuner out.

I wasn???t happy with my Fender BXR 60 and decided to get an amp with more power, and a better sound. I made a list of 5 things I was looking for in an amp. In reverse order of importance they are:
1. Features ??? Mark Bass had all the features I was looking for in an amp.
2. Portability ??? I wanted a rig that wouldn???t break my back and was easy to take to practice or gigs. I thought I???d need a separate head and cab(s). I started looking at music shops as well as bass chat forms. This combo is only 29 lbs.
3. Price ??? All the heads I was looking at were about $600. Even the Little Mark II head. Cabs were $400-$800. The CMD 121P gave me all the power I wanted and for $200 more than just the head, I had it in a combo.
4. Power ??? I wanted 200-400 watts of power. The CMD 121P version I have has 280 watts with the 12??? speaker and tweeter in the combo. I have another speaker out when added gives me 450 watts.
5. Sound ??? The must important requirement was great sound. I was looking at Ampeg and SWR. They both had a sound I liked. Then I started reading about Mark Bass on bass chat forms. I traveled 400 miles to the Las Vegas Guitar Center, played this combo and was sold. The sound is incredible with my Ibanez Sound Gear as well as my friends Fender P bass.

In the 9 months that I???ve had it it???s never let me down. I could better answer this question in 5 years.

Haven???t needed it yet.

The features are perfect for my needs. The portability for the power and sound are unsurpassed in my experience. I recently played at an outdoor venue and decided to borrow an Ampeg SVT rig. Everyone in my band as well as our sound guy all commented that they wished I???d brought my Mark Bass. They said it sounded much better. I totally agree.

This review is for the MarkBass CMD121P Combo. I bought this amp new at Guitar Center in June 2007. I do not know the manufacture date, but suspect is was Feb-Mar 2007.

The amp has 1 input channel for your bass and a balaced XLR input in an easy-to-access position on top of the unit. The XLR was designed for a vocal mic -- and works well for rehearsal -- but I have found it useful for running an iPod signal for practice and rehearsal. There is an effects loop, headphone / tuner out, DI out for running your signal into the house, and external speaker connection. There is no volume control for the DI signal which is not a large concern as the sound man can conrol your signal in the mix. All of the output jacks are at the bottom and hard to reach -- you must turn the unit on its side and lean to the floor to access these jacks.

The vol and EQ section are easily accessed and work well. I have found that you can get most sounds desired. The controls make it easy to get a traditional thump or a more modern slap tone without working really hard. Because this combo lacks front ports and does not push any air there is limit to the "feel". I prefer to 'feel' the bass at med to loud vol levels -- this combo does not deliver here.

The unit is solid state amp, 12" speaker + 1 inch tweeter that puts out sufficent power for a medium loud rehersal and giging at small venues. 500W @ 4 ohm / 300W @ 8 ohm. There is no separate tweeter attenuation control, but the tone contols provide sufficient balance to keep the sound from being too harsh.

I play 3 main basses - Fender American P with S1, Fender American Jazz with S1 and Dingwall Afterburner 5. These are all passive basses, so I cannot comment on the sound with an active rig. I play a variety of musical styles - rock, jazz, r&b, pop, slap, counrty -- and this amp (with the right bass selection) covers all reasonably well. The J and the Dingwall sound very good but the P sound is lacking. I suspect this is due to the lack of front ports and the ability to move air. The unit is very clean even when pushed and does a nice job with the low B of the Dingwall.

There is a variable speed fan to keep things cool that never gets noisy.

I have used the combo for rehersal, practice and small venue gigs and received compliments from other bass players and musicans on the sound especially when they see how small the combo is.

I have had the combo about 30 days with no issues, but cannot comment on long term reliability. The unit is solid and well made; if you believe the MarkBass web site thier products have a very low failure rate due to thier design and QA processes.

Again, no issues. Guitar Center warrants the unit as part of the purchase price.

I have been playing bass for 25 years. My main rig is G-K 1001RB with 2x10s and 4x10 cabs. I consider this to be my reference sound and can easily fill any hall and most outddoor events without going into the house. My G-K setup weighs well over 100 lbs and requires a SUV to move, hence my search for a useable combo. What this unit offers is a very respectable 70% of the full rig G-K sound at 25% of the weight and size.

I compared this various Fender, Ampeg, Line 6 and G-K combos. The MarkBass unit was more expensive but did combine a very small size with very versatile and usable sound. The other brands were either too whimpy sounding or nearly as large as my G-K rig.

The real selling point is the combination of quality sound at modest gig volume, easy to use controls and exceptionally small size. The combo is 29lbs and the size of 2 paper sacks of groceries, hence it will fit in any trunk -- even a small hatchback with the back seat up!

Worth checking out if you don't need huge volume and want to drive your car to a gig.

It's not packed with features but I believe in benefits more than features. It's simply got a combination active/passive input, all the tone controls you'll need, DI out, tuner input which is handy so you can have your tuner plugged in all the time and can tune on the fly, you have effects in and out on the back and the ability to plug the amp into another cab if need be. Im not into the 101 dials and knobs and just want to plug and play so this combo is perfect for me

The first thing I noticed was it was very quiet, even when on higher volumes. I play a washburn 5 string in contempory christian music both in a large church setting but also outside the church and when people see it they think it's a toy or rehearsal combo. They all eat their words when they hear it in all it's glory. From funky pop to swing and jazz tunes it's incredible the versatility it presents. Audition it and you'll agree it's sound is amazing

Don't know yet but I have a sneaking suspician that as long as I look after the amp The reliability will always be there

I have only just bought it but with a 5 year warrantee how can you go wrong

I have been a drummer for 20 years and have been playing bass for 10 years and played 4 and 5 string and fretless basses and have played through many different amps, speakers, cabs etc and have never in my life heard a an amazing little combo as this one. Don't let the size fool ya. It will easily blow any combo even remotely close to the size of this one out of the water and the clarity and tone is exceptional. I was still in shock the next morning after a gig and looked down at this small combo in my studio and couldn't believe how loud and clear it was.
In the store I tried to break it and could only set it at 5 on the volume cause my ears started to hurt and I was punishing it with deep "B" string slaps and really high pops and it didn't faulter. No distortion, no failure, no clipping. Imagine if I took it to 9 or even 10. There are alot of "loud" boxes out there but for the size and clarity of tone you will not regret spending that little extra. Highly recommended